Commentary: We’ve been hi-jacked!

On a normal day the editors of Pizza Today roll into the office, swill down the caffeine and attack a multitude of tasks ranging from copy editing to writing and/or making recipes. There are blogs to write, stories to research, interviews to conduct. There are deadlines. There are Web updates. There are writers to keep on task.
Normally, that’s our problem. We do what we do so that you can do what you do. But we’ve decided we need a break and that deadlines, for the September
issue you’ll be reading a month from now, are no longer our problem — they’re Brian Weavel’s.

Brian owns Anna’s Pizza & Pasta in Winnebago, Illinois. And he won our PT Guest Editor Gig contest when thousands of pizzeria owners from across the country logged on to PT.com and selected Brian from a pool of three finalists. The electorate was so enthralled with Brian that he received a whopping 65 percent of the votes. That’s impressive.

So now a guy who rolls up his sleeves and makes dough in a tiny town with a population of 3,000 is going to take my job for the month. He’ll bring with him 25 years of experience in pizzeria operations. As a past “Citizen of the Year” and “Business of the Year” honoree in Winnebago, Brian brings with him a wealth of knowledge when it comes to community involvement and customer relations. He’ll put his insight to work for you when he takes over our September issue and fills our pages with the type of information that has helped make Anna’s Pizza & Pasta a “mom and pop shop” success story.

When Brian was selected as our guest editor by his peers, his excitement level was contagious. We were equally excited to work with him and are certain you’ll enjoy the fruits of Brian’s labor when our September issue hits your mailbox. Congratulations, Brian. It was fun!

A second congratulation is in order as well. And this one is one is a really big deal. Ann Kim of Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis is our first-ever female Independent of the Year. To find out how she went from Korean immigrant to pizza maven, check out the coverage of Pizzeria Lola. Her story is impressive, and we’re delighted and honored to bring it to you.